UK Prime Minister Theresa May has apparently confirmed that the boycott barring UK politicians and royal family members from attending World Cup football games in Russia will remain in place, even if England reaches the final. A good decision in my view, given that Dawn Sturgess has died from Novichok poisoning, possibly from touching a container associated with the March 2018 attack on Sergei and Yulia Skripal - the poisoning incident that sparked the British political boycott in the first place.
I have to admit, I'm not so sure I'll stay firm in my resolve to boycott watching games with France vs Belgium coming up. For all the sparkling antics of the South Americans, there's something about good, solid (northern) European football - and the unpredictability of the French (in rugby as well as football).
But I'll almost certainly sit out the Qatar competition in four years time - unless that country makes dramatic improvements for the safety and working conditions of its migrant construction workers.
What I'm really hanging out for is 2026 - in a 'tri-nation' tournament hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. Even though Donald Trump's "veiled threats" towards countries who might vote against North American bid led to Fifa reviewing guidelines on political interference; and doubts have still been expressed about the transparency of bidding processes by #NewFIFANow co-founder, Bonita Mersiades (“...when it comes to an issue of process versus culture, culture wins every time" she says); a lot can happen between now and 2026.
After all, the President of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (who failed in their alternative bid), still congratulated the new FIFA President "for the conduct of this process and ... for what he has done in order to move things towards more transparency and more inclusion.”
And Donald Trump won't be leading America in 2026 either. So here's looking forward in hope to a better, fairer world' well on its way to bringing down carbon emissions, and sharing the goods so 2.66 million children aren't dying of hunger each year. Who knows, perhaps they'll be open borders and they'll be bussing some of those illegal immigrants (who only want a better life) to the games.
I have a dream ...
I have to admit, I'm not so sure I'll stay firm in my resolve to boycott watching games with France vs Belgium coming up. For all the sparkling antics of the South Americans, there's something about good, solid (northern) European football - and the unpredictability of the French (in rugby as well as football).
But I'll almost certainly sit out the Qatar competition in four years time - unless that country makes dramatic improvements for the safety and working conditions of its migrant construction workers.
What I'm really hanging out for is 2026 - in a 'tri-nation' tournament hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. Even though Donald Trump's "veiled threats" towards countries who might vote against North American bid led to Fifa reviewing guidelines on political interference; and doubts have still been expressed about the transparency of bidding processes by #NewFIFANow co-founder, Bonita Mersiades (“...when it comes to an issue of process versus culture, culture wins every time" she says); a lot can happen between now and 2026.
After all, the President of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (who failed in their alternative bid), still congratulated the new FIFA President "for the conduct of this process and ... for what he has done in order to move things towards more transparency and more inclusion.”
And Donald Trump won't be leading America in 2026 either. So here's looking forward in hope to a better, fairer world' well on its way to bringing down carbon emissions, and sharing the goods so 2.66 million children aren't dying of hunger each year. Who knows, perhaps they'll be open borders and they'll be bussing some of those illegal immigrants (who only want a better life) to the games.
I have a dream ...
